Who doesn’t love a day of shopping at the local mall or large shopping center Shopping should be fun, even if you have a disability and use a wheelchair. People with disabilities need to have the same experience as they shop as those who do not have a disability.
Here are the top 10 accessibility concerns you should be looking for as you shop at large shopping centers:
- Is the accessible parking dispersed to be close the front doors?
- Is there a “van” sign and van parking at each accessible parking area?
- Are the accessible parking spaces level, within 2.0%?
- Does any of the accessible route from the accessible aisle to the front door go behind parked cars?
- Is the cross slope on the accessible route less than 2.0%?
- Is the running slope on the curb ramp less than 8.3%?
- Is there an accessible route from the entrance door to the public street?
- Is there an accessible route in front of all stores?
- Is there an accessible loading zone with appropriate signage?
- Is there a 5-foot wide square in front of all entrance doors that is level within 2.0%?
What do you do if you find one of these accessibility barriers at your favorite large shopping center?
Contact us and provide us with a photo (if possible) of the violation and a receipt (or other documentation) of your visit to the shopping center. We’ll take it from there, at no cost to you! For more information on Access Advocates, visit the ‘How It Works‘ page on our website to hear our founder Hank Falstad explain our mission and process.
With your help as an advocate, we can improve accessibility for all and get buildings ADA compliant, one building at a time. Contact us today!
Click here to see more ADA facts.